Kai Kristiansen Nesting Cube

With a passion for math and engineering, Kai Kristiansen has created high-quality wood furniture for decades. Beginning in the 1950s, his coffee tables, chairs, modular shelving and other furnishings were made in the style that would become internationally renowned as Danish modern and boasted clean lines, perfected functionality and exacting craftsmanship.

Born in Denmark, Kristiansen trained in cabinetmaking before studying with Kaare Klint, often cited as the “father of modern Danish design,” at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. At just 26 years old, Kristiansen opened his own studio.

Kristiansen had his mid-century breakthrough in 1956 with the Chair #42, which he made with Schou Andersen. Unlike most other chairs at the time, Chair #42’s armrests, with their wealth of radical angles, were connected to the back rather than the front legs. This unconventional flourish makes the backrest appear as though it is floating in midair above the seat.

Kristiansen’s next innovation was a modular wall system in 1957 — three years ahead of Dieter Rams’s more famous 606 Universal Shelving System. Called the Reolsystem Wall Unit, produced by SB Feldballes Møbelfabrik, it’s also known as the FM Wall Unit as FM/Fornem Møbelkunst began producing it in the 1960s.

Kristiansen would go on to work with other leading Danish furniture manufacturers such as Magnus Olesen, Fritz Hansen and Vildbjerg Møbelfabrik, designing everything from chairs and desks to sideboards and cabinets, frequently in rosewood and teak. (The latter was a sought-after wood by Scandinavian modern designers.)

While many of Kristiansen’s timeless designs remain in production, such as his Paper Knife sofa, which was reintroduced by Miyazaki Chair Factory in 2008, and his 1950s Entré collection, which was relaunched with Great Dane Furniture in 2016, others are prized as vintage mid-century pieces.

Today, Kristiansen is still at work on new furniture with an expert eye to thoughtfully functional designs that are made to last.

Find a collection of vintage Kai Kristiansen furniture on 1stDibs.

Antique and vintage nesting tables and stacking tables first became popular in the early 1800s. With individual tables being used for afternoon tea, needlework and other activities, nesting tables were a perfect solution to clear up clutter at the end of the day.

These tables remained a staple of interiors over the decades for their versatility. In the 1920s, German-born American artist Josef Albers designed a modern version with each table a different color. At the Bauhaus, the German art and design school and chief crucible of modernism founded by architect Walter Gropius, Albers wasn’t the only designer to reinterpret the nesting table. Hungarian-born architect Marcel Breuer also introduced a model with chrome-plated tubular steel legs and lacquered plywood surfaces.

One can now find a range of gorgeous, carefully crafted designs, such as a three-level set of solid oak nesting tables, naturally oiled and finished with Calacatta marble. A game-themed set of nesting tables is a must-have for a living room or lounge, while a small office can be accented with vintage Scandinavian nesting tables made of teakwood, a sought-after material among mid-century modern designers.

Browse the unique collection of antique and vintage stacking tables and nesting tables on 1stDibs to find hundreds of options to match your office or living space.